A teenager has been cleared of murdering a British woman who was stabbed to death during a break-in at her home in Australia.

 Emma Lovell, 41, was killed while fending off two intruders in North Lakes, Queensland, on Boxing Day in 2022.

The mother-of-two, who emigrated to Australia from Ipswich in 2011, died of a single stab wound to the heart.

The man, who cannot be named because he was 17 at the time, was found not guilty of murder after telling Brisbane’s Supreme Court that he did not know his fellow intruder had a knife.

Justice Michael Copley, who heard the case without a jury, also found him not guilty of a malicious act with intent and unlawful wounding, but guilty of burglary and assault.

Another man, who also cannot be named because he was under 18 at the time, was jailed for 14 years in May after pleading guilty to murder.

Ms Lovell’s husband, Lee, who survived the attack, broke down in tears outside of the courthouse and said his family had been “left with a life sentence”.

“I think the verdict is a bit of a joke. I just don’t feel justified for Emma one bit. That’s not how I thought today was going to go, to be honest,” Mr Lovell said.

“I’ve just got to suck it up,” he added.